Almajdouie invests in global forwarding venture

November 25 - The Saudi Arabia-based Almajdouie Group has invested in a new freight forwarding venture, Maxx Global, which will target the project logistics and general cargo sectors.

Investors in the company include India's Sahil Freight, Cargo-Partner of Austria, De Rijke Logistics from Holland and S I Mustafa (pictured below), Almajdouie's long-serving vice president of logistics.

Having appointed Abdullah Ali Almajdouie as chairman, Maxx Global hopes to grow its business by inviting other companies to invest in the start-up.

In addition to its operating HQ in Dubai, it plans to open a further nine offices in the Gulf and one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Canadian office is already active. "When you bid for global projects you need local know-how and contacts to gain the confidence of clients," explained Raza Esmail, Maxx Global's vice president, global development.

"Maxx is all about synergy­ we have found partners with the same concept: family-orientated companies who think outside the box."

In a separate development, Almajdouie has formed a specialist company, Petrologi, to offer petrochemical logistics solutions on an international basis.

Partners in the new firm, based in Bahrain, include De Rijke and Sumitomo, of Japan.

June 5 - A fire broke out aboard Höegh Autoliners’ ro-ro vessel Höegh Xiamen yesterday (June 4) at Blount Island, Jacksonville, USA; there are no injuries to any of the 21 crew members, who have all been evacuated from the vessel.